Sunny side up
by Mizu-Tenshi
Summary: Monochrome Factor:: Very slight KengoxAkira:: Akira is a block-head but Kengo is an idiot. Between them, they might just have enough brain cells to figure it out. Or not.


Monochrome Factor. A brief look into the relationship between Kengo and Akira with little asides courtesy of Aya. Slight KengoxAkira if you squint. Otherwise, consider it a friendship fic.

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**Sunny side up**

XX

"_You two! Why are you two on the roof instead of in class?"_

"_It's Akira's fault!"_

"_It was boring."_

Kengo was an idiot. He was just too stupid to realise it. A D-grade idiot at best who followed Akira around like a lost puppy; sickeningly loyal even in the face of abuse, the kind of person who would more willingly part with his limbs than with a secret entrusted to him. A naïve kind of fool.

Akira, was different though. He was what was most commonly known as a block-head. A stubborn, somewhat arrogant, bull-headed boy who chose to solvethings with his hands rather than his head, and with enough machismo to club a whale to death. He would carry himself confidently, too sure of himself, or perhaps just too apathetic to care, as he walked through the school grounds. A delinquent with absolutely no manners. No doubt he would grow into a fine, insensitive, young jerk; the enemy of all womankind.

Yet, between an idiot and a block-head, both somehow managed to remain clueless. They would not have enough brain cells between them to read a map, so it was only natural that neither of them could see it.

Even so, it was frustrating for Aya to watch.

All they would have to do was stop and think about it. It would not require that many brain cells and they both had the capacity for it…she hoped. When she first entered high school, she had been one of the first to spot it, and subsequently spent the rest of the year wondering when the clue-bell would ring above their brainless heads.

They made a strange pair. Like an odd couple you see on a TV sitcom. Just how two completely different people could form anything close to friendship was a mystery. Akira was cold and cynical, Kengo warm and optimistic. What Akira lacked in social skills, Kengo made up for in excessive friendliness. One tried to act cool, the other was a complete dork. They were almost complete opposites, probably as incompatible and dark and light.

Yet Aya still understood.

"_Idiots of a feather flock together."_

They were two sides of the same coin. Though Akira would never admit it and Kengo would never realise it, there was something that seemed to bind the two together. It would be there, barely peeking out from underneath the facades. It was there in Akira's clumsily veiled concern for his friend. It was there when Kengo rushed to butt into one of Akira's fights. It was there he followed him out of school, metaphorical tail wagging, and when Akira would unceremoniously intrude upon Kengo's home without a word of warning. Always there, catching the corner of your eye but never quite on display - a strange and curious bond.

"He's an idiot," Akira complained to her once. As if he could say anything. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Yet he would always find himself around that idiot. Maybe that was why he was so obtuse. Idiocy could be contagious. In that case, maybe she should stop hanging around the two of them for a while…

"Huh! Stupid Kengo can go die in a gutter for all I care!" he would proclaim. Asserting his nonchalance.

Kengo never did die in a gutter though. Or rather, he was never allowed to die in a gutter. Even beaten to a pulp, with a split-lip and a collection of bruises, he would still be back the next day for more.

"_Honestly, are you a masochist?" _

"_A what?"_

Then Akira would shout at him. He always hated 'stupid Kengo' getting involved in his almost daily battles. He would yell at him, tell him he was a bother and sling his arm around his shoulder in order to support him.

Sometimes he would yell at him for no reason, or else ignore the boy's existence completely. He would hit him enough to make anyone think twice about domestic violence yet Kengo always seemed to have the endurance of an iron bull and the patience of a saint. In such cases, he would smile and laugh, pretend to complain a little, but would never cease in following wherever Akira went. Was he incredibly loyal or just incredibly stupid? She always had her doubts.

"_You know, I think Kengo might have brain damage. From all the times you've hit him."_

"_If you don't do it enough, his brain won't get enough oxygen to function."_

Yet, whilst all this seemed to occur almost daily - both the abuse and their awkward camaraderie - both boys remained frustratingly indifferent to it.

Sometimes, she had to fight the urge to grab one of both of them by the collar, yelling "Realise it! Realise it, dammit! Open your damn eyes!" _Normal_ friendships did not consist of verbal and physical abuse, haughty displays of machismo, needy clinging and disturbing displays of loyalty. It was strange, wasn't it? They were not normal! Neither one was normal!

Yet Aya never did spell out what was right in front of their idiotic faces the whole time. She figured that the words would just fly over their heads anyway. That, and besides, Kengo's obviousness and Akira's obliviousness fit so well together. Almost like two sides of the same coin.

"_And? How will you two be wasting your time tonight?"_

"_I'm going over to Kengo's!"_

"_You are?"_

"_Of course. I already told you."_

"_You did?"_

"…_Idiots."_

_XX_

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And that, as they say, is that. I have another fic in the workd. One more plot based and contains ShiroganexAkira. Please look forward to it!


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